Downrigger opinions?

[Pitch Pocket]

I'm going to put a second downrigger on my sled (I have a Scotty manual now). Does anyone has an opinion about which is best?

[Hookset]

My previous boat had 2 Scotty manual downriggers. The new boat has 2 Scotty electric downriggers. From the research I've done, Scotty was the favorite compared to the rest.

I purchased mine from a Canadian dealer, the US dollar is stronger up north and I saved some cash ($$$). Very simple phone call and creidt card number, 7 day delivery with UPS to my door.

good luck,

hook

[Whalerman]

Scotty is the way to go, either manual or electric!

Whalerman

[Joe Schwab]

Scotty is a good downrigger for the first year or so then things begin to happen. I used two electrics after having manual Cannon downriggers. Using them guiding in salt. They started having problems with line kinking. (never had that with Cannon) The lines snapped at the terminus when bringing them up. Scotty rep could not tell me what was wrong. Teh housing cracked on both making them useless and unrepairable. Of course the warranty didnt cover that. I got rid of them and went back to Cannon manual. Very stout, very simple, very reliable and easy to mount. I heard all the hype on Scotty but never found it to be true. images/icons/frown.gif

[Pirate]

I also have a manual Scotty and it's ok, but if I were going to really get serious with a couple electrics, I would give serious consideration to Penn. IMHO images/icons/grin.gif

[Lipripper]

I have a Cannon electric and am seriously considering another. Have had Cannon manuals on other boats and am sold on Cannon.

[Trout,myster]

I have two Cannon Uni-trolls on my boat with removable brackets. They're both manual and work great with no problems and I would buy Cannon again. I haven't used any of the other makes, so can't give an opinion one way or the other on those.

I am curious if anyone has tried the new downrigger line from Cabela's. It's actually just 130# superline braid from what I gather but they claim it doesn't "sing" like cable or kink. I'm convinced that the singing line on the 'riggers spooks fish. I may be all wet for thinking that, but I catch plenty at slow speeds and far fewer at speeds fast enough to produce that miserable singing!

[Lipripper]

Trout,myster may have something there. I wondered if the "singing' affected the fishing(catching). It hadn't crossed my mind but when I'm trolling slow enough not to have the line "singing" I have caught more fish than when the line "sings". I think I'd like to look into that line from Cabela's. I'm going to add another electric downrigger to my arsenal and I might just go to that line. Thanks for the heads up.

[STRIKE ZONE]

I've had no problems with the penn's.Good luck.
STRIKE ZONE

[Jeffhead]

I have had 2 Scotty Manuals for 5 years and they have been real reliable. I'll think about some electrics when I get old and gray. images/icons/grin.gif As for wire kinking, I change out my wires at least every 2 years as they get "etched" and need replaced anyway.
Hey TM, as for the singing of the SS wire, that's a good thing!!! If you go to the braided line/wire you will lose the electrolysis effect thats attracts the fish to the boat, you know that voodoo thing!!! Get a black box to control it and your catch will increase!!! To lean more about it go to http://www.scotty.com/scotty_blackbox.htm to read more about it.
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff images/icons/grin.gif images/icons/grin.gif

[Pilar]

Cannon Uni Troll for me, rugged, inexpensive and simple. I've had one for two years now. I'm building a mount for the second one for Nooks at the rockpile. The line counter is pretty handy and I like the mounting system.

Get the 200 ft wire and the 10# ball it's worth it!

[Fish4Fun]

I have the Scotty manuals on my sled, reason being not everybody is right handed. With top cranking Scotty's it will work for left handers too. As for electrics I would still go with the Scotty's. Again the reason is Scotty is the only electric that I know that has the manual handle for backup should you lose a battery or a electric motor on the rigger.

[GutZ]

Penn. Be American. Buy American!
GutZ

[Pitch Pocket]

Thanks for your posts. I'm thinking electric for my side of the boat as piloting and cranking = two things at once! Anyone ever had a problem with a downrigger motor going out and needing the Scotty crank?

Also, what size downrigger weights do you use?

[GutZ]

In Puget Sound and the Strait you need at least 10 or 12 pounders. The biggest I've used are 15. When fishing Lake Washington Sockeye (no tide or current) you could probably drop to 6's.

GutZ

[Jeffhead]

12 lb minimum, to much swayback with the 10 lb'ers. Also make sure that they are plasticoated.
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff images/icons/grin.gif images/icons/grin.gif

[Pirate]

Trout, myster
I have looked through Cabela's for the rigger line and found 2 that resemble what you described.
1.Planer board line 150ft. 135#test $8.49
2.Cabela's Prestige Dacron 500yds 130#test
$27.99
or is there something else in the catalog that is specific to downriggers.
I want to try something other than wire because the downrigger is always out fished by the long line rods. Maybe it puts out a negative charge and a black box($$) is out of the question. images/icons/frown.gif

[Hookset]

Just checking in my Cabela's Marine catalog, I've found a Depth Trac Downrigger line. It's 135 lb. test, can use lighter downrigger balls, tracks straighter and no crimping required, just use a knot. Comes in 150, 200 and 400 foot rolls. At $12.99, 15.99 and 25.99 each. The Cabela's number is #SL-01-2999 and specify size.

hook

[Pilar]

Pirate, I had some problems with downriggers until I learned a few things.

Glow in the dark hootchies rule!

You can build your own 'box' with stuff from Radio shack for cheap. It is not adjustable but it puts a 0.4 to 0.5 volt ++ charge on the down rigger wire. E me and I'll you tell you about it.

Or you can ground the wire to the -- terminal of your battery. That will keep the wire from building up a charge.

The big secret is to control your boat speed by the sound of the wire. A low throb on the wire to no sound at all is ideal. If the wires are howling you are going too fast.

One more is to let about 25 to 40 feet of line out before you clip the line into the release. This puts your bait behind the boat away from the wire. Crank the slack up until the rod is bent hard. If the rod pops up on a strike, gun the kicker till it goes tight again.

Last summer the huge problem was getting the rig down through the silvers to the chinooks. We tried to fish four rods and never got more than three set before a melee ensued. You can never have enough landing nets on a Coho boat.

[Pirate]

hookset and Pilar
Thanx for the great information and both options would work great.
Pilar, I feel real bad about that huge problem you had getting through all the Silvers images/icons/rolleyes.gif images/icons/rolleyes.gif images/icons/rolleyes.gif
I'd like to have that problem too. images/icons/grin.gif

[Joe Schwab]

This is getting to be too good of a thread to let go. The information here is great. Just one question Jeffhead you mentioned using only plasticoated weights. Any special reason? I've used both and liked the plastic mainly because they didn't bang the sides of the boat. Is there another reason? Just curious. I don't want to be missing anything. images/icons/confused.gif images/icons/smile.gif

[Mr. Fisherman]

Pilar...

"I'm building a mount for the second one for Nooks at the rockpile" Ah hem...

Who's building those mounts, bow rails, bait box lids.... etc?

Now I see how you are.

Hey dude, let me take a gander at those prints and I'm sure we can come up with an adjustable option. Electronics are my gig and I'd like to give it a shot. Do you have an oscilloscope?

If not I have friends who do. Lets crack this thing. Maybe we could fab them cheap?

By the way, you should be finished with your bow rails by the end of this next week. Dan! finished his motor cover so I have plenty of time now. Maybe I should go fishing images/icons/confused.gif


Later,

Mr. F.

[boater]

i found a canadian dealer jerrys bait (http://www.berrysbait.com/Products/Downriggers/downriggerscontents.htm) 2 1116 scotty electric for 730 US plus shipping, no tax, i am leaning towards ordering them, but have not yet. also at the outdoor emporium in seattle they have heavy duty bungy`s that go from your weight to the end of the downrigger wire that are about a foot long and stop the bounce when your weight comes up and stops, i have fished with downriggers in other peoples boats but have never owned them, and the kings are starting to show in puget sound, we got a 21 pounder at dolphin point today at low tide, ya, it was off a downrigger...trolling at 3 mph with a green glow hotspot and squid with a tinsel insert, no bait just shrimp smelly jelly.

[ 06-17-2001: Message edited by: boater ]

[Jeffhead]

Four things to add to this thread:
1) The reason for the plasticote is to keep the pure lead ball and the downrigger wire from forming an electrolysis zone of its own at the end of the wire. I have the Scotty black box and this is thier recommendation, minimize the different fields around the boat.
2) Pilar,
The .4 - .5 volts positive that you are producing is to low. Optimum for nooks' to have a good effect is somewhere between .6 and .65, for silvers it is .65 to .7. In the unregulated state your boat with downriggers will produce between .7 and .9 volts positive, if it is lower than that your zincs are either not clean or you do not have enough zincs on the boat.
3) which leads to number 3, always wire brush your zincs before going out with a stainless steel brush. They will get an oxide coating on them that will reduce the effectiveness.
4) With the voltage control in effect run your gear within 10 feet of the downrigger ball, outside that range and you are not getting any help. I gaurentee that running them that close will not spook the fish!!!
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff images/icons/grin.gif images/icons/grin.gif

[Hookset]

Thought I should post where in Canada I purchased my 2 Scotty downriggers.

Tyee Marine
250-287-2641
Campbell River, BC
email - tyee@online.bc.ca

They beat Berry's Bait, the online tackle store. Saved enough money to buy a black box. Purchased 2 1105's with extra clips and swivel base mounts. A simple phone call with credit card number and UPS had them at my door within a week. Someone else already emailed me about this marine dealer, just wondering if they ordered any and how things turned out.

I know buy American, like the sound of it. But have you really seen exactly what we manufacture in the US these days? Not much of anything. Most US companies have manufacturing sites all over the world these days. It's really a global economy.

peace to all,

hook

[Silent Lucidity]

bump for good information

[new boat]

Am new to using downriggers, but thanks to help from others on this BB, they are working great. I have two Scotty electrics on swivel mounts and have had a couple of irritating problems with them however. First, I fished the ocean a few times and have a sled with a raised rear fishing platform and have the power plugs at floor level of the boat. Regardless of how much corrosion block, vaseline, WD 40 or any other substance I can think of, the inside of the plug corrodes in one trip and needs replaced or blows the fuse. I keep several fuses on board and have had to use the crank before I knew I needed fuses. If the rigger had a longer power cord, I could solve the problem by keeping the plug out of the salt. Second problem is they seem to keep getting out of adjustment, with the brake not keeping the ball up when raised. I keep adjusting, but still have this problem from time to time. Anyone got any ideas? images/icons/confused.gif

[boater]

pjt, cut them off and use 2 prong rubber trailer lite connectors, they are water proof and also, buy an extra and cut the wires off both ends and use it for a dummy cover plug when you dont use them. just my useless 2 cents worth

[SlabQuest]

I have electric Scottys and have also experienced the problem of trying to maintain a good plug connection. Mine stay pretty clean - I always turn my battery off when boat is not in use (no green corrosion). But I still am constantly tweaking the plug to maintain good contact. I look funny playing a fish while pushing on the plug with my foot to get the cable up. I hate to cut off the sealed end of the cable. I wish there was a better solution.

I have not had the brake adjustment problem. I like the fact that the whole magilla is serviceable by removing one nut. I would recommend disassenbling the "stack". Maybe you have some seaweed in there and should clean the brake pads.

I have a friend that uses 150# test kevlar line instead of cable. He loves it. He catches a lot of fish.

[Thick-N-Thin]

I didn't see anyone mention Big John downriggers! Another great American made downrigger used alot in the Great Lakes. I have had my electric Big John for 6 years! No problems. http://www.bigjon.com/ Check them out if you've never heard of them! Made with polished aluminum....Matches your sled real well!

[Thick-N-Thin]

For my Big Jon downrigger I use a standard electrical male plug and then I have a female recepticle built into the top edge of the boat next to the downrigger that has a hinged spring cover to keep out the moisture when not being used. I just unplug the downrigger when not in use. I think you can find these plugs in Bass Pro or Cabela's.